US, Chinese warships in near collision

[webfact]

US, Chinese warships in near collision

BEIJING: -- A US guided missile cruiser and Chinese warship have come close to colliding in the South China Sea, a media report said.

The Chinese ship was attempting to make the USS Cowpens stop in international waters near the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning on December 5, the US military magazine Stars and Stripes reported Friday.

"The US has raised this issue at a high level with the Chinese government," a State Department spokesperson told the publication.

The USS Cowpens had to take evasive action to avoid a collision, a spokesman for the US Pacific Fleet said.

No shots were fired, a military official who requested not to be named told Stars and Stripes.

US Vice President Joe Biden was visiting Beijing at the time of the incident.

China is locked in various territorial disputes in the South China Sea with neighbouring countries and claims most of the sea as its territorial waters.


-- The Nation 2013-12-14

[noikrit]

Boys with their toys ..........

[impulse]

Change a detail or 3 and it's like deja vu all over again.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hainan_Island_incident

[spirit47]

This is football, isnt it? Running in a large field and crash together...

[SaamBaht]

The USS Cowpens? Well of course it got no respect.

[slipperylobster]

Seems like the chinese maneuver their ships much the same as they drive their cars.

[slipperylobster]

The USS Cowpens? Well of course it got no respect.

All the respect in the world...as an historical fact !!!

"January 17, 1781, took place in the latter part of the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution and of the Revolution itself. It became known as the turning point of the war in the South, part of a chain of events leading to Patriot victory at Yorktown. The Cowpens victory was won over a crack British regular army³ and brought together strong armies and leaders who made their mark on history."

Courtesy of this site.....http://www.nps.gov/cowp/historyculture/the-battle-of-cowpens.htm

[SaamBaht]

yes I'm familiar with that victory it's just the name a place for cOws so to speak

[MobileContent]

Mai pen rai, the US ship was a long way from the United States.

If the Chinese missile cruiser would come near US waters even if they are in International waters, the US would send everything they have, I am sure the Chinese media would also say the same kind of propaganda that the Chinese ship worked very hard to avoid a collision.

Come on Snowden release some more news. Haven't heard for a long time by the US that the Chinese are hacking their systems.

[folium]

The USS Cowpens? Well of course it got no respect.

Tut, tut.... You just flunked US history. Battle of Cowpens was a crushing rebel victory during the American War of Independence that led to Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown.

Suppose Waterloo would get no respect either, and I don't mean the Abba song....

[JoeLing]

Did they see each other on the horizon and had to take evasive action?
So, just wonder what is considered a "near collision" between warships.

1 mile, 10 miles, 100 miles or even 1000 miles?

[bangon04]

Did they see each other on the horizon and had to take evasive action?

So, just wonder what is considered a "near collision" between warships.

1 mile, 10 miles, 100 miles or even 1000 miles?

Obviously they had their radars switched off to save electric.....

Seriously though, the Chinese are flexing their muscles, and the US will be very hard pressed to keep them in check in the region. The Chinese will soon run over a Philippines gunboat and even a Japanese Coastguard vessel to make a point.

And most countries are scared of them, both economically and militarily.

[bitcoinbob]

the communist chinese military is playing a very dangerous game with very shrewd opponent who took over the world. the chinese navy would not even make it close to u.s. waters because the have no supply infrastructure for long distance journeys, you need lots of support boats and experience , there navy is basically regional, read third rate at best. snowden do you real think he left on his own or is disinformation puppet. the chinese are playing a game that will bring them to war exactly what the u.s. wants, u.s. like big wars, they make big money.

[Credo]

At this point in time, there is no threat of China getting close to the US coast. They have there eye on the South China Sea and everything in the vicinity of it.

[CIHUAHUA]

Why wait , blow the Chin out of the water and lets get it on. Do it now or even the Brits will be sorry.

[freebyrd]

Possibly only a matter of time until some megalomaniac crosses the line.

[lovetotravel]

Mai pen rai, the US ship was a long way from the United States.

If the Chinese missile cruiser would come near US waters even if they are in International waters, the US would send everything they have, I am sure the Chinese media would also say the same kind of propaganda that the Chinese ship worked very hard to avoid a collision.

Come on Snowden release some more news. Haven't heard for a long time by the US that the Chinese are hacking their systems.

http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/security-it/chinese-hackers-spied-on-europeans-before-g20-meeting-20131211-hv59f.html

http://www.thewire.com/global/2013/12/china-spying-g20/355956/

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hacked-from-china-is-your-kettle-spying-on-you/

[DGIE]

Did they see each other on the horizon and had to take evasive action?

So, just wonder what is considered a "near collision" between warships.

1 mile, 10 miles, 100 miles or even 1000 miles?

Obviously they had their radars switched off to save electric.....

Seriously though, the Chinese are flexing their muscles, and the US will be very hard pressed to keep them in check in the region. The Chinese will soon run over a Philippines gunboat and even a Japanese Coastguard vessel to make a point.

And most countries are scared of them, both economically and militarily.

China is greedy. They want to own all the territories of neighboring countries.

[F430murci]

the communist chinese military is playing a very dangerous game with very shrewd opponent who took over the world. the chinese navy would not even make it close to u.s. waters because the have no supply infrastructure for long distance journeys, you need lots of support boats and experience , there navy is basically regional, read third rate at best. snowden do you real think he left on his own or is disinformation puppet. the chinese are playing a game that will bring them to war exactly what the u.s. wants, u.s. like big wars, they make big money.

Afraid this has more to do with internal China economic and social problems. US does not want more conflicts. Contrary to what you believe, the costs of conflicts currently have a huge negative impact on the US economy. China is desperate for something, what exactly that is remains to be seen. Then again, could just be an overcompensation for physical infirmities. Difficult to say at this point. Not a lot of clear and coherent thought in this part of the world.

[Bpuumike]

Mai pen rai, the US ship was a long way from the United States.

If the Chinese missile cruiser would come near US waters even if they are in International waters, the US would send everything they have, I am sure the Chinese media would also say the same kind of propaganda that the Chinese ship worked very hard to avoid a collision.

Come on Snowden release some more news. Haven't heard for a long time by the US that the Chinese are hacking their systems.

Absolutely. If there was a Chinese missile cruiser between , say, Cuba and Florida...

[Steely Dan]

Did they see each other on the horizon and had to take evasive action?

So, just wonder what is considered a "near collision" between warships.

1 mile, 10 miles, 100 miles or even 1000 miles?

Ten gallon hat and shades versus bottle glasses and coolie hat.

[Genericnic]

Did they see each other on the horizon and had to take evasive action?

So, just wonder what is considered a "near collision" between warships.

1 mile, 10 miles, 100 miles or even 1000 miles?

If I remember correctly what I read earlier, they were within about 500 yards of each other when the Cowpens took evasive action.

David

[HerbalEd]

Mai pen rai, the US ship was a long way from the United States.

If the Chinese missile cruiser would come near US waters even if they are in International waters, the US would send everything they have, I am sure the Chinese media would also say the same kind of propaganda that the Chinese ship worked very hard to avoid a collision.

Come on Snowden release some more news. Haven't heard for a long time by the US that the Chinese are hacking their systems.

Why speculate/assume what you don't know? Makes you look stupid. And, BTW, supposed jokes are not funny when the teller laughs at them himself ... esp. when no one else laughs.

[HerbalEd]

Did they see each other on the horizon and had to take evasive action?

So, just wonder what is considered a "near collision" between warships.

1 mile, 10 miles, 100 miles or even 1000 miles?

If I remember correctly what I read earlier, they were within about 500 yards of each other when the Cowpens took evasive action.

David

500 yards is very close for big ships. They don't turn on a dime ... and they don't have brakes.

[HerbalEd]

the communist chinese military is playing a very dangerous game with very shrewd opponent who took over the world. the chinese navy would not even make it close to u.s. waters because the have no supply infrastructure for long distance journeys, you need lots of support boats and experience , there navy is basically regional, read third rate at best. snowden do you real think he left on his own or is disinformation puppet. the chinese are playing a game that will bring them to war exactly what the u.s. wants, u.s. like big wars, they make big money.

Your last sentence is absurd. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been terrible for the US economy.

[kiniyow]

the communist chinese military is playing a very dangerous game with very shrewd opponent who took over the world. the chinese navy would not even make it close to u.s. waters because the have no supply infrastructure for long distance journeys, you need lots of support boats and experience , there navy is basically regional, read third rate at best. snowden do you real think he left on his own or is disinformation puppet. the chinese are playing a game that will bring them to war exactly what the u.s. wants, u.s. like big wars, they make big money.

Your last sentence is absurd. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been terrible for the US economy.

No one has been clear to me about just why we are there in the first place?

[NeverSure]

All the US has to do to crush China is to put a 30% tariff on anything imported into the US from China.

Already the US is figuring out how to manufacture things cheaper using technology. Add to that the cost of shipping raw materials to China and then shipping back finished product. Now add in the cost of sending Americans to China to set up and supervise the manufacturing plants so that there is American quality instead of Chinese junk. Already a lot of manufacturing is returning to the US from China.

Start with 3D printing. Now look at the computerized clothing manufacturing which will make, label, and package clothing without human intervention making cheap Chinese labor irrelevant too expensive.

Just do it. Apply that 30% tariff and manufacturing coming back to the US would change from garden hose to a huge river, and China's pockets would be turned inside out.

[Publicus]

The Cowpens was there because its a part of the US "Rebalancing to the Pacific" which Asean countries requested Prez Obama to go ahead to execute.

Countries of the region regard the CCP-PRC as the neighbor from hell.

The communist dictators in Beijing are both menacing and militarily threatening numerous countries throughout the Indo-Pacific strategic region, to include India, which is building a massive air and naval base on the Andaman Islands to put its forces at the northern end of the vital Malacca Strait and close by to SE Asia.

The communist dictators in Beijing have wildly claimed almost all of the South China Sea as their sovereign territory. Under international law, however, the South China Sea and the East China Sea - given those names hundreds of years ago by Western mariners - are the high seas, international waters.

After declaring the Air Defense Identification Zone over the Japanese Tenanku Islands, which is rightfully being ignored, the dictators in Beijing sent their Russian bought one and only aircraft carrier into the South China Sea, where they have announced they will also establish an ADIZ.

The Philippines have filed their case with the International Tribunal of the UN International Law of the Sea, a case the dictators in Beijing are losing. With the moral authority of the UN behind the Phils along with the UN ILOS, we'll see how much the dictators in Beijing respect international law.

[Publicus]

Possibly only a matter of time until some megalomaniac crosses the line.

It's not some megalomaniac...it's calculated,cold,hard, strategic interests...

There are no 'accidents' in politics..

For sure, the problem here is not miscalculation.

The problem is Beijing's exact calculations, from Tibet and its northern border at India to the Senkaku Islands of Japan, to Taiwan, to the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, and India in the Andaman Sea and the Indian Ocean - the problem is the calculating going on among the dictators in Beijing.

It's also true dictators are megalomaniacs, fascist ones especially.

[F430murci]

It is all about economics and China's desperate measures due to a failing economy.

Neversure mentioned tariffs, but those are not needed as the Yuan is dangerously close to appreciating. Chana's solution, land grab and impede trade perhaps.

Here is a decent article discussing dynamics of why China redrafted boundaries to include water routes.

-----

Why is this important? The world has prospered because of trade conducted freely over wide seas lanes and air routes. So Chinas claim to the South China Sea, if permitted to stand, will mark the end of the open architecture of the Post-War world.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonchang/2013/06/02/china-and-the-biggest-territory-grab-since-world-war-ii/